1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements of traditional striking pads worn or held by a trainer of combat sports include: Body pads (worn around the body), focus mitts (worn on the hand), kick shields (hand held) and individual targets (hand held) and previous inventions which monitor striking effectiveness which are not traditionally shaped trainer held or worn strike pads.
Traditionally, striking pads have been the main tool for trainers of many striking disciplines. Striking pads come in various shapes and functions and are worn or held by a trainer. Some striking pads are worn or held on the hand and some striking pads are worn on the body, but they all share the perk of allowing mobile training. The purpose of striking pads is to train striking by positioning pads in key locations on said trainer's body that simulate striking key locations on an opponent as well as facilitate striking mobility as the trainer becomes the mobile target. The importance of striking pads is that they simulate sparring by allowing a fighter to train strikes without actually hitting another person. The trainer will hold or wear striking pads in various locations during a training session, which allow the fighter to simulate strikes to the body and head of an opponent without actually hitting another person directly.
2. Description of Related Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,497, Rhee discloses an energy absorbing device for use with a person's hand to protect the hand during training and contests in various sports such as karate, boxing, etc. The device is constructed of resilient foam means covered with a tough, pliable surface coating. The device generally comprises a pair of spaced, parallel, resilient members suitably secured together with a space there between. The device is adapted to permit insertion of the hand into the space between the two resilient members.
Rhee sets the foundation for the traditional striking pad in his invention. While the hand is entered into the striking pad and worn by a trainer, it does not use trainer triggered lights to direct orders for the person being trained to strike.
The presented invention here fills the void set forth by Rhee by allowing the trainer to activate the commands to strike by triggering the switch for the light. Unlike the Rhee invention, the present invention allows the trainer to give commands to strike at the speed of light. No time is lost with the present invention as the person being trained does not need to relate the verbal or physical cue to strike. With the present invention, the person being trained is stimulated by the light and simply reacts without verbal cues, more similar to a real fight scenario.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,354 to Goldfarb et al. discloses a reflex testing amusement apparatus that allows simulated head-to-head sparring and scoring. The picture of each combatant camouflages a series of lights, with each light being located at a key attack/defense point on the combatant's body. At the start, one of the lights is turned on and the participants each try to hit their light to turn it off. The first “hit” causes both first lights to extinguish and a second light in each series to illuminate. The player to make the first “hit” gets a scoring credit for that “hit.” The participants strike at the second light and so on as the lights are sequenced in a pseudo-random order. The game continues for a predetermined period and at the end a winner is determined by comparing the number of “hits” made by the players. Modifications for a single-player game and a game which runs until a predetermined score is made are also provided.
Unlike U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,354 from Goldfarb, the present patent trains and test reflexes using trainer triggered lights that are not automated or programmed. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,354 is a game while the present patent is used within traditional striking pads worn or held by a trainer for the purpose of maximizing the reflexes of combat sports athletes.
In U.S. Pat. application 20090264263, Yang discloses an invention for a trainer held strike padding in the shape of a human torso. The torso described in the Yang invention illustrates a human like torso that may be used to transmit the effectiveness of strikes in key locations of the humanlike strike pad. It should be noted that Yang's portable strike pad does not incorporate lights.
The present invention incorporates the use of traditional shaped training pads that are worn or held by trainers and infuses them with lights triggered by the trainer. Unlike the Yang invention, explaining the difference of the previous invention being the humanlike shape, the present invention introduces new technology to assess striking effectiveness within the striking pads through traditional shapes of trainer held or worn pads with proven public acceptability.
U.S. Pat. application 20040220021, Bryant discloses a martial arts practice apparatus which is comprised of a punching and kicking pad secured by spring loaded connectors to a board to which is also attached a timing light that blinks intermittently at irregular intervals. The board is rigidly connected to a wall. The user of the apparatus practices punching and or kicking the pad each time and as soon as the timing light blinks on. Such practice improves the user's martial arts punching and kicking reflexes. The punching and kicking pad may also be used without the timing light being turned on.
While Bryant uses light stimulation in his invention, he removes the trainer from the training regime of training a fighter's reflexes. The present patent uses trainer triggered lights instead of programmed lights as Bryant. Bryant also uses a wall mounted striking pad; the present invention uses trainer worn or held striking pads in the traditional shape.